Living in Peru : your everyday companion

$264 million luxury hotel on La Florida beach in Tumbes, Peru

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts - a hotel chain with establishments in ten U.S. states and forty hotels in countries such as Canada, Mexico and England among others - has announced the construction of a $264 million luxury hotel on La Florida beach in northern Peru.

According to Francisco Martinez, the general manager of Inversiones y Negocios Pafra, the hotel will have 1,500 rooms along with 750 apartments.

The hotel is to be located in Tumbes, one of Peru's northernmost regions, which is known for its fine beaches and warm weather.

The hotel complex will be located 35 minutes from the city of Tumbes, between Zorritos and Punta Sal beaches, two of the country's most well known beaches.

This mega project, which is the hotel chain's first investment in South America, will also include an area where cruise ships will be able to dock and an area where guests can do water sports.

Martinez, one of the project's Peruvian partners, has affirmed that one of the most important issues facing the construction of the hotel is environmental protection.

He announced that $15 million would be invested in the construction of a water treatment plant and that studies were being done for the construction of a natural-gas turbine that produced electricity as well as a plant that produced wind-generated electricity.

It has been estimated that the hotel will be ready to operate in April 2010. Construction of the hotel is to begin in September 2008.

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# Splaktar says :
25 June, 2008 [ 13:27 ]

Hopefully this construction will not endanger any of the good surfing breaks up there.

# juanjo says :
25 June, 2008 [ 13:36 ]

Splaktar: there you go....splakt!  why you are so negative?  don't worry!....they not going to build this hotel on stilts on the water, you know? so why you worry about the surf? this is good news for Peru....so be happy!

# Splaktar says :
25 June, 2008 [ 14:27 ]

Because developments on the coast, specially in Peru, have a history of ruining good surfing spots.  There are examples in Costa Verde, Tumbes, Chorillos, and others.

# Carlos A Quiroz says :
25 June, 2008 [ 15:26 ]

These kind of news get on my nerves. In one hand, this could mean more life-achieving jobs for the locals Tumbesinos as maids, janitorials, gardeners, dishwashers and servers. Meanwhile the big business goes to Lima and overseas. 

And yes, I can see the Tumbes beaches being taken over by drunk, cocaine-loving tourists that will think they are in a South American Cancun. And there will be also the good people who travel all the way to Tumbes to lay in a tropical beach.

A new hotel ! yeeeya... good news for Peru. (?)

# A.K. says :
26 June, 2008 [ 02:50 ]

Well splakter, the article talks about a dock for cruise ships. If so, a breakwater well definitely be built. So your concern is well founded. If I'm not mistaken, the surf there has the longest breaks anywhere, I believe..

# ALS says :
26 June, 2008 [ 08:44 ]

I work for an environmental org and I am a surfer and am concerned about both the impact of such a large hotel and the break but Fairmont Hotels are one of the better hotels when it comes to environmental standards and the fact that they are looking into building wind turbines is good news.

# AJ. Whilar says :
26 June, 2008 [ 10:56 ]

I think the project is excellent.
Tumbes needs this kind of investment, it will benefit Northern Peru.
As for building docks or jetties, surfers will be on the outlook that these will not touch waves, for years I have been witness and documented with photos how the Costa Verde beaches have been partly destroyed, let's just hope this does not happen. 
I agree with ALS as well as Splaktar comments.

# Marisol says :
26 June, 2008 [ 13:05 ]

There is always two sides on each story.
On one side, fellow Tumbesinians and people coming from all over will have an opportunity to get a job and feed their families. There will be more tourism and the commerce around the area will increase. On the other side, beach breaks can be destroyed, pollution, and dirty overpopulated beaches might arise. That's where the government should step in and take the convenients policies/measures to make this a fair game for everyone. I support the building of this hotel, but I do not support pollution, destruction of surfing breaks. Hopefully this project will not end up like those in Baja Mexico where huge contructions are left without been finished due to lack of extra investing money.

# Liliana says :
26 June, 2008 [ 18:46 ]

This is definitely good news as it shows the fast growth of our economy, markets, industries (touristic related mainly). We all can see constructions all over the city for housing and business. Hotels, restaurants and entretainment places are being opened frequently, not to speak of enterprises/companies offices, as a sign that Peru is a target now. Welcome investors!!! it brings many work opportunities. Another sign of this boom is that qualified executives for large companies CEO positions are out these days... A client of ours can use a good recommendation.  

In the case of the big hotel in Playa La Florida Tumbes, I just hope the beach and natural landscapes are well taken care of. I agree with all of your comments in this point. 

# Carlos A. Quiroz says :
26 June, 2008 [ 23:13 ]

Some Peruvians are so naive, they really think foreign investors come to our country to solve poverty, or because they care about the poor. Wake up, they only care about their pockets, and if that means exploiting human beings and destroying the environment, they won't hesitate for even a second, it's all about big money.

More hotels will not bring real progress for our people, who don't even have running water in their shanty towns, we don't need them to become servants to feel that we are improving, we need them to become engineers, technicians, communities leaders, teachers, innovators, and agents of change, not blue collar workers for rich drunk tourists, please.

# Marisol says :
26 June, 2008 [ 23:55 ]

I feel a little resentment there Carlos, but the way business is done nowadays is not like before, usually the majority of companies worldwide are becoming more planet concious becoming green, donating money for improving the towns around where the foreign investors bring there money into.
Yes, the people need to be educated but they also need to be fed. It is the responsibility of a government to give a basic education to its people and not the responsibility of private firms, who regardless of that like I mentioned before, donate money to fund projects in the communities around their investments and/or are enviromentally friendly.
I think it is not healthy for anyone to judge someone before knowing them and also, it is not nice at all to call tourists coming to Peru or just anyone, drunk.

# Jet says :
27 June, 2008 [ 04:54 ]

Yes, worldwide companies should come to Peru to open hotels and ONLY give executive jobs to the local Peruvians.  Every Peruvian they hire locally should be made a company president or better.
The owners of the worldwide companies should take up cook and cleaning positions at the hotel.  They should also only give the profits to the people that live around the area, and make sure the locals are happy with the amount of money they are given.  It would be rediculous for the owners of these companies to expect to make money..... after all that is evil and all companies need to be punished for such thinking.
Peru should just pass a law that all companies that come to do business in Peru must not attempt to make money and if by chance they should happen to make money the owners should issue a public appology to the people that live there and to the country itself.  In addition the owners must prove that they are truely sorry that they had the desire to make money here when they are people that do not make money here.
If Peru can just manage to convince these companies and owners how evil they are and how bad it is that they want to business in Peru...... well then everything would finally be good and all Peru's problems would be solved.
Oh wait.... that's communism

# Carlos A. Quiroz says :
27 June, 2008 [ 09:44 ]

Jet, that is not communism, that is you being cynical and a typical right-wing propagandist.

Marisol, I don't dislike hotels and I think every business should have the right to open anywhere, but first there should be strong rules when it comes to protect human beings and the environment.

Peruvians don't have basic labor rights and anyone with money will buy anything and anyone in Peru, so when I read your comment about how corporations in Peru are protecting the land and the local population, let me just remind you of Yanacocha, La Oroya, Moquegua, Tintaya, Camisea, etc. places where Peruvian citizens got sick for life because of pollution and labor abuses. And who is our government is protecting to?

My comments are not against opening hotels, but against opening them in protected areas with no regulations. The results are low profits and blue collar jobs for Peru, and that is not worth the environmental and social destruction they will provoke. I hope I am wrong this time.

# Juan Pedro says :
27 June, 2008 [ 11:28 ]

I think surfers should approach Fairmont Hotels and "Inversiones y Negocios Pafra" as soon as possible, and offer their advice to ensure that any dock preserves the area's surfing (and if designed well, it could even create new breaks!). Thing is, surfing could well be an additional attraction for the hotel's potential visitors (by the way, dudes, hot actress Kate Bosworth surfs!). Fairmont is an experienced chain, and if presented with that additional 'plus' for the site, I would be surprised if they ignore it.

And yes, besides Kate Bosworth, the thing would probably attract also a few 'puppies' (aprendices de perro) to the waves, but on the other hand, these would be few and occasional ones, and there should also be potential to make some good money as surfing instructors -enough to have a nice life and plenty of free time by the beach....?

As for other impacts....ay....yes, all economic activity has an impact, even if done carefully. I, for one, would like to see all the remaining marvels of Peru remain intact -and I hope many of them do remain so forever. This one, I don't know how the balance between bad vs. good impacts will play out -I hope the good impacts win. Generally speaking, hotels -particularly those built with environmental considerations in mind from the onset- can be among the cleanest sources of employment and wealth for an area.

Of course many jobs would be for janitors, gardeners, servers, etc, not necessarily very high-paying....but, if the alternative is no job, or digging soil in a hazardous mine, or trying your luck searching for a hopefully-decent job in a far-away big dirty city, it's not a bad proposition. Higher-paying jobs do exist in hotels, of course, in more or less the same proportion as in most other businesses. But let's not forget that there can be a lot of peripheral opportunities for independent jobs, some of which could be well-paid -from specialized technicians and artists, translators and interpreters, to...maybe surfing instructors!

As for foreign 'riff-raff' crowding the beaches...There'll surely be some, but probably not a lot, since high-end hotels and ship cruises tend to attract mostly educated families and retired people -and hey, let's face it: not all Peruvian surfers and beachgoers are model citizens either, and maybe this thing will help finance good beach cleaning and protection for the whole area, benefitting all. For sure, the local government(s) should try to ensure various benefits extend beyond the hotel grounds somehow. 

In a nutshell: I'm not 'sold' on the idea of a big hotel on a nice beach, but I've seen places where it's been done nicely, and benefitting many people who would otherwise be destitute. I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt to this thing, but of course everyone should keep an eye on how things unfold. And don't forget: Surfers of the world, unite -or at least have someone there talk to the builders and owners to make sure the waves live long and prosper.... :)

# Carlos says :
29 June, 2008 [ 13:02 ]

Well I am always happy,  If these Hotels bring People in Peru decent paying employment & better career prospects.

# nekky says :
2 August, 2008 [ 03:14 ]

I am going to this beach because ....I like to see the good breaks people have been talking about and I will probably stay in a hotel darn! surfing, bring the bodyboarding!!!!!!! yo! ha!

# peloflex says :
2 August, 2008 [ 11:52 ]

Juan Pedro, you have saved me from doing a lot of typing...  thanks!

for Carlor Quiroz... su guitarra y su voz!

I trully hope this helps, although I don't own the truth, but I do own  good common sense..

I see you are very concerned about the poor and that's great!...unfortunately nothing can change overnight... specially if we talk about our country which had been buried for decades with not even the slightest chance for progress... Now things are changing... now we do have a chance... it seems to everyone that now we have a very solid chance and the thing is, going back to my point, I see absolutely nothing wrong with blue-collar jobs... a blue-collar job way better than no job at all... why would you expect any different ? FOR NOW that is...

But here is where it becomes good news... these blue-collar workers would be able to send their kids to better schools... and those kids will have a much bigger chances than their parents did... isn't that nice?

So why worry so much... ?  again, nothing can change overnight.. we have to be patiente. let's get rid of the negative... if you want to hear about success... read the story about the owner of the brand TIPPY TOP the textiles... I hope I wrote correct... or the owner of PERHUSA... a coffee exporter... you know what, let's change the typical peruvian attitude... good things don't just happen because of magic... we need to teach our peruchos that good things are the result of hard work and big efforts, I come from the north part of the contry and I know for a fact that most guys in that part make a living by working from 6-7am to 10-11am... by noon they take a long lunch break of 3-4 hours... nap included... then some go back to work for another two more hours... some others don't work until the next morning... NO ONE! can have that luxury no where in the world... it's time for them to get back on track if they want something better, really I don't see why you would expect them to have a job other than a blue-collar job, which by the way, I don't see nothing wrong with it.

And about the protection of the surfing breaks, well, I see someone here with the surname Whilar, that makes me feel safe, I am sure there is lots of people out in Peru that will make sure that our breaks are well protected.

Lastly, if anyone has any doubts that progress and preservation of enviroment can go together, you should go visit Waikiki beach...

thanks for reading!

peloflex

# Marisol says :
2 August, 2008 [ 13:12 ]

Hey Peloflex....you saved me a lot of writing too...
It's so funny that I commented too about the same article....un bacalao, dos bacalao....hope to see you soon my friend......

# peloflex says :
2 August, 2008 [ 13:52 ]

ha! I kinda had the feeling it was you.... Sol..... y Maaaar!

you see? ever since you recommended this site to me... I've became sort of addicted to it... so if someone has any complains about what I write in here... it's all Marisol's fault!....

latersss!

# Jet says :
3 August, 2008 [ 04:19 ]

In Peru, the waves of the future

Surfing's new hot spot may be found on 1,500 miles of coastline.

By Julia Chaplin | The New York Time
august 3, 2008

Peru is poised to become the new "it" spot on the international surfing circuit. It has 1,500 miles of rugged coastline dotted with countless breakers, from pristine beaches tucked around Lima to unexplored pockets up north where some waves are said to last more than a mile. And unlike Malibu and Hawaii's northern shores, many of Peru's best surfing spots are often nearly empty.

National inspiration for the sport is 24-year-old Sofia Mulanovich, a Peruvian who won the World Surfing Championship title in Hawaii in 2004. Surfing is picking up in the small town of Chicama in the country's north, famous for its super-long waves, and around the busy capital of Lima, where the sometimes polluted breaks are teeming with surfers from dusk till dawn. But the epicenter of the neo-surf scene is in Punta Hermosa, a summer beach community about 30 miles south of Lima.

The hour-long drive to Punta Hermosa passes by brown hills devoid of vegetation and pocked with sad clusters of wooden shanties. The town itself doesn't look like much — dusty concrete houses painted in bright greens, blues and reds in the hills below the four-lane Pan-American Highway. But at the beach, curling waves fan out in all directions like Neptune's block party.

Each break point presents a different challenge. There's Kon Tiki, which offers untamed waves so massive that it takes a strong arm even to paddle out to it; La Isla, where homegrown pros like Mulanovich and Gabriel Villaran can often be found; and Pico Alto, a brawny break with swells that can range up to 25 feet.

On a recent Saturday afternoon, the Copa Barena Professional Circuit surf competition was taking place in Punta Rocas, one of the most popular beaches in the area. The scene at the amateur competition resembled a South American version of Malibu, but wilder. Waiters in baseball hats weaved through an obstacle course of sun chairs with plates of calamari and cans of Inca Kola, a yellow soda spiked with caffeine-laden guarana fruit.

Mulanovich, who is known as "la gringa" because of her fair skin and blond-streaked hair, sat with an entourage near the judge's perch as she watched her younger brother, Matias, whiz over the lip and down the face of a meaty charging barrel.

"Peru is the best preparation for a pro surfer because there are so many different varieties of breaks and conditions," said Mulanovich, who grew up in Punta Hermosa and recently bought a rock star-grade condo nearby with panoramic views of five surf breaks. "It's much less crowded than in Hawaii and California, and even on the smallest day of the year it's never flat."

But despite the surf fever, Punta Hermosa remains off the radar for most tourists, probably because there's little reason to come unless you're really into surfing. There are no surf shops — boards and gear must be rented or bought in Lima — and only a handful of hotels like Luisfer's, a no-frills hostel where surfers bunk up, five to a room.

The enterprising and friendly locals, however, make up for the lack of infrastructure. The town's surf museum, for example, is actually the private home of an old-school surfer, Jose A. Schiaffino. I stumbled upon the 1950s surf shack one afternoon while walking back from the beach. Schiaffino wasn't home, which was too bad because I had heard he mixes a mean pisco sour, but his caretaker let me look around.

The living-room wall was plastered with archival photos of the Waikiki Surf Club and the ceiling was covered with colorful boards donated by big-name riders like Nat Young, Mark Foo and Mulanovich — a makeshift hall of fame.

One morning, I hired a taxi and set out on an hour-long journey to Cerro Azul, a mellow break immortalized in a line from the Beach Boys' 1962 anthem, Surfin' Safari.

After four police checkpoints (shakedowns are common along the Pan-American Highway), we pulled up on a dirt road to the port town The shoreline buzzed with anticipation. True to its reputation, the break had a mellow but perky wave that rippled around a jagged point as though made in a water-park wave pool. I paddled out, staked my spot among the teens, moms and old-timers, and caught a few rides before moving on to the next break down the coast.

The word on the shore was that any surf safari must also include a visit to Mancora, a small fishing village in northern Peru near Ecuador. It enjoys an almost mythic reputation among surfers for its balmy water, endless sunshine and crowd-free breaks. Aerocondor's clunky plane landed in Talara, an industrial port whose airport is now temporarily closed. The region is the center of Peru's oil industry. After an hour-long taxi ride, I arrived in Mancora, which looked like a blink-of-an-eye frontier town until I wandered out to the beach. Surfers in string bikinis lounged under palm trees sipping coconuts, taking turns paddling out into the crystal blue ocean.

After dark, the town's sole street turned into a total party, with flotillas of surfers, weekenders from Ecuador, and girls in slinky tank tops getting tipsy at bars like Iguanas and Chill Out. In the morning, the action moved to the beach, especially at the main surf break in front of the Hotel del Wawa, a small hotel and restaurant owned by the hunky surf pro Fernando Paraud. The restaurant was packed wall-to-wall on a recent Thursday afternoon with surfers waiting out the high-noon sun and low tides. Then, when the tide finally broke around 4 p.m., everyone grabbed their surfboards and headed back to the water in choreographed unison.

I followed them in. The waves were as gentle and as well-formed as the famously friendly breaks at San Onofre or Waikiki. And almost as jammed. Luckily there was a chain of hidden beaches just a hop away.

After bumming around Wawa for a couple of days, I hired a local surf guide nicknamed Pulpo to show me around. He drove me 10 miles in his teal-blue van to Los Organos, an abandoned oil town with a couple of new beachside hostels.

There were no more than a dozen other riders on the surf. I took my board into the water and waited for my wave. It didn't take long before I caught one that was head-high with a defined peak that tapered off to the right into a long shoulder — perfect for cutting and carving long arcs.

Pulpo seemed impressed because he took me 45 minutes farther south to Lobitos, a hard-to-find break tucked at the end of a ragged dirt road. There were oil pumps, rusty pipelines and crumbling military barracks. We pulled up over the dirt and parked alongside the deserted beach. I pulled out my chunky 7-foot-6 rental board with trepidation. The beach looked like a small swatch of an industrial wasteland: a couple of oil barrels with flames flickering on top, and a few giant rigs on the horizon. But the waves had a perky, fun shape. Really fun, in fact. And the water was a seductive clear blue. Pulpo smiled. He had promised me a crowd-free break that was off the grid, and this was it.

I rode the swells for several hours, forgetting about the ominous oil barrels and, apparently, the time. Pulpo called me in. There was another spot up the road that was even better.